If you’re out some evening for the next week or so, you’re quite likely to notice the Moon which will be brightening each evening until Full Moon on the 27th. This is the time of the month when it pretty much washes out the other stuff in the sky, and a chance for astronomers everywhere to catch up on their sleep, except for those who specialize in planets.
In the pre-dawn, three of the four morning planets are showing off again for anyone who happens to be up between 4 and 6 am. I did happen to catch a glimpse last weekend as Mars was passing just over Jupiter. Someone looking this Thursday/Friday will see a nice line of Mars, Jupiter and Venus, in that order, left to right.
Venus has turned on the jets and is now rapidly moving to the east. On the 25th, it will zip just one degree (a thumb width) below Jupiter. Monday, October 26th, is the closest this group will get together, and is the last time until January of 2021 that a nice planetary trio like this will be visible. In a week, Venus will catch up to Mars, and even the Moon will get in on the act before the morning planets go their own separate ways.
Planetary alignments such as this, called ‘conjunctions’ by those who like to use big words, are not necessarily times when planets are close together. Astronomical conjunctions (extra points for two big words together) are a chance alignment of objects usually nowhere near each other in space.
Venus is currently 100 million kilometers closer to the Sun than we are, and Mars and Jupiter are way heck and gone on the other side of the Sun, at 340 million and 900 million kilometers respectively. Yet, on October 25th, you would put off going back to bed ‘cause it looks like there’s a chance that Venus is going to smack Jupiter a good one. This is aided by the fact that humans are not really good at logic at four in the morning.
This round of early morning stuff is almost done for the year, so set that alarm clock and see what the universe is up to while you sleep. It’s all available through an east-facing window, or from your own back yard.
